Machine for reducing the shanks of shoe soles



Nov. 24,1942. w, P; ORDON 2,303.;268

mcnmn-Foa msnbcme THE SHANK 6F snos SOLES Filed June 1:5, 1940' 2 smu-sheet 1 Elma/WM l Z/illiam" P. Gordon Nov. 24,1942. w. P. GORDON2,303,268

MACHINE FOR REDUCING THE SHANK OF SHOE SOLES Filed June 13; 1940 U 2Sheets-Sheet 2 /I/I/HIIE 5 ll/illiam P. Cordon Patented Nov. 24, 1942UNITE ST TES iATENT OFFICE NIACHINE FOR REDUCING THE SHANKS 0F SHOE.SOLES Application June 13, 1940, Serial No. 340,312

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and is particularlydirected to a method of and apparatus for beveling the edge portions ofshoe soles to reduce the thickness thereof in the shank region.

In the manufacture of Womens shoes, it is particularly desirable toprovide shoes which have the appearance of being light in weight anddainty and yet possess sufficient strength to withstand hard use forsustained periods. this desired appearance, it is customary to reducethe thickness of the sole, especially in the shank region and to causethe reduced edge to adhere to the upper by forcing the same intoengagement with the rotating element of a sole laying machine.

Heretofore, the edges of the shank portions of the shoe sole werebeveled through manually exeouted operations through the use of asuitable sharp knife. Such operations required great skill on theoperators part and many times resulted in the production of shoes withshank edges of uneven thickness, the same shank edge often having thickand thin portions. Not infrequently,

through carelessness or lack of skill, the operator would remove so muchstock that the stitches which secure the sole would be cut out and theshoe seriously damaged.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision ofa machine and a method of working on shoes therewith by which the shank,or other desirable portions, of lasted shoes may be uniformly beveled byrelatively unskilled labor without danger of injuring the shoes. havepreviously been provided but due to the design thereof, experiencedoperators were required and inferior results were often produced. Suchmechanisms generally employed reciprocating knives which were apt tosever the threads of the outseam much in the manner of the handoperation.

It is another object of this invention, therefore, to provide a machinein which a rotary cutter is "employed to reduce the thickness of thesole, the cutter having a plurality of transversely curved blades forengagement with th sole edge portion to produce a beveled surfacethereon, the shoe being moved with respect to the cutter to extend thebeveled surface to the desired length.

A further object rests in providing the machine above mentioned with awork rest having a reduced edge, the work rest being disposed in closedrelation to the rotating cutter and having To give 1 Mechanisms toperform this operation its reduced edge disposed between the shoe sole55 and the upper to prevent engagement of the upper material with thecutter and to support the sole edge while the cutter is operatingthereon. The reduced edge of the Work rest also serves to limit thewidth of the beveling cut by engaging the inseam and preventingexcessive movement of the shoe toward the cutter.

A still further object resides in arranging a gage finger adjacent therotating cutter whereby the operator may observe the position of theshoe with respect to the cutter and so move it to cause the productionof a uniform bevel, the gage finger being resiliently mounted in orderto hold the shoe sole in engagement with the work holder and preventelevation of the shoe into excessive contact with the cutter.

Another object resides in providing means for adjusting the variousparts of the machine to adapt the same to shoes of different sizes andstyles.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description and theaccompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated in itspreferred form.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a machine for beveling the edge portionsof shoe soles formed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the machine shown in Fig. 1 andillustrating the rotating cutter thereon in one position of movement;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical longitudinal sectional view through theoperating portions of the machine and taken on the plane indicated bythe line III-III of Fig. 2, this view showing the cutter in anotherposition of movement;

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the planeindicated by the line -IVIV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken through thecutting head of the machine and illustrating the operation of reducingthe edge portion ofa lasted shoe;

Fig. 6 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the planeindicated by the line VIVI of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings. the numeral I designates aframe member or support on which the operating mechanism of the machinemay be mounted. The frame I is provided with horizontally disposedbearings in which a shaft 2 is journaled for rotary movement, one end ofthe shaft being provided with a pulley wheel '3 around which a belt 4passes to transmit movement to the shaft from a line shaft or other typeof driving member, not shown.

If desired, the pulley and belt may be dispensed with and a direct driveto the shaft 2 from a suitable motor substituted. The shaft 2 projects aconsiderable distance from the support I and is reduced at its outer endas at 5 to receive a star-shaped cutter 6, the latter being secured inengagement with the shaft by a screw I extending through the cutter andinto the shaft from one end. One or more collar members 8 are disposedbetween a shoulder 9 formed on the shaft and the cutter member tomaintain the longitudinal position of the cutter on the shaft.

Adjacent the upper portion of the support I, there is provided ahorizontally extending rib I6 which is positioned in a keyway I I formedon the rear surface of a bracket member I2. This member may be formedfrom a metallic casting and includes a vertically extending portion I3from which projects a lateral extension I4, the extension being disposedslightly above the axis of the shaft 2 when the rib I is placed in thekeyway II. The bracket member is held in position on the support I by amachine screw I which extends through a slotted opening IS in thebracket and into the support I, the slot I9 being provided to permit thebracket to be adjusted longitudinally of the rib III, the purpose of theadjustment being set forth hereafter.

At the lower end of the vertically extending portion I3 of the bracket,a rearwardly extending foot I! is provided. This foot may be integrallyformed with the bracket or, as illustrated, secured thereto through theuse of screws I8. The rear surface of the bracket immediately above thefoot I! is provided with a vertically extending channel I9 for thereception of a tongue 29 provided on an adjustable block 2|. The bracketis also provided with an elongated opening 22 in registration with theguide channel I9 for the reception of a screw 23 used to hold the block2I in positions of adjustment relative to the bracket. The slot 22 isformed with a shoulder for engagement by the under side of the head ofthe screw when the screw is tightened in the operation of securing theblock.

By loosening the screw 23, the block may be adjusted vertically in theguide channel I9 by turning an adjusting screw 24 which is threadedlyreceived by the foot H. The upper portion of the block 2I is providedwith a dovetail guide groove 25 for the adjustable reception of a workrest 26, this member being retained in its positions of adjustment withrespect to the block by a thumb screw 21. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 3and 5, the work rest includes a body portion 28 from one end of whichprojects an upwardly and wardly directed extension 29, the outer endportion thereof being reduced in thickness to provide a relatively thinedge 39. After the bracket is properly positioned on the support, theblock 2| is adjusted to position the projection 29 in close proximity tothe periphery of the cutter 6, sufficient clearance being allowed topermit the cutter to rotate.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the cutter possesses considerablethickness and decreases in diameter from the inner to the outer sides,the blades 6a possessing a transversely curved cutting edge. By thisconstruction, a substantially triangular space will be provided betweenthe periphery of the cutter at its largest diameter, the work rest andthe outer side of the cutter,

this space receiving the edge portion of the shoe sole when theoperation of beveling the same is being performed. The lateral extensionI4 of the bracket is also provided on its rear surface with a channelguide for the adjustable reception of a tongue 3| formed on a gagesupporting block 32 which is held in adjusted positions on the extensionby'a screw 33,

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the block 32 has a vertically extendingchamber 34 formed therein to receive the headed end of a gage bar 35.The lower end of the chamber terminates in a slot 36 to permit the gagebar to extend through the lower portion of the block and move verticallytherein. When the bracket and the block 32 are properly positioned, thelongitudinal axis of the gage bar 35 will be positioned in a verticalplane passing through the axis of the shaft 2 and the gage bar willextend downwardly at the outer side of the cutter 6. The lower end ofthe gage bar is reduced in thickness as at 3! to permit the bar to beemployed as a tractor to guide the operator in moving the shoe throughthe machine when the sole edge is being beveled. The reduction inthickness of the bar also permits the operator to have an unobstructedvision of the work in progress.

The gage bar is normally held in its lowermost position with the lowerend thereof in close proximity to the reduced outer edge of the workrest by a coil spring 38 disposed in the chamber 34 between the headedend of the gage bar and a follower 39 disposed for sliding movement inthe recess. The upper end of the block 32 has a cover 49 securedthereto, this cover being provided in registration with the recess witha threaded opening M for the reception of a thumb screw 42. By threadingthe thumb screw into the cover member, the resistance to upward movementof the gage bar may be increased. If it is desired to decrease thisresistance, the screw 42 may be rotated to cause the threaded shank tomove out of the chamber 34 and thus reduce the resistance to thecompressive force of the spring 38. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the gagebar 31 will be moved upwardly in opposition to the spring 38 when theshoe sole is positioned in the machine. The spring then serves to movethe sole downwardly into engagement with the work rest and prevents theshoe from being moved upwardly which movement would result in excessivereduction of the sole.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Assuming the various parts of the machine to be in properly adjustedpositions, the operator holds an inverted lasted shoe at the side of themachine with the shank portion either at the ball or heel end adjacentthe cutter. The shoe is then moved toward the cutter with the reducededge of the work rest between the welt strip or upper surface of theoutsole and the shoe upper. This operation will cause the gage bar tomove upwardly in opposition to the spring and the compressive force ofthe spring will enable the gage bar to hold the shoe in contact withthework rest, When the shoe has been moved a sufficient distance into themachine, the reduced edge of the work rest will engage the inseam jointand further movement will be precluded. At this time, the gage barshould be in registration with the outseam. By observing the position ofthe gage bar, the operator may then move the shoe at right angles to theaxis of rotation of the cutter until the length of bevel desired hasbeen produced.

While moving the shoe, the operator may seacure a uniform width of bevelby maintaining the relative position of the gage bar and the outseam. Ifthe operator also maintains the welt strip or upper surface of theoutsole in firm engagement with the Work rest, the thickness of theouter edge of the sole will be kept uniform. In other Words, the amountof stock removed in the beveling operation will be uniform throughoutthe length of the beveling operation.

After reaching the desired point at the heel or ball portion of thesole, the shoe may be gradually removed from the machine to blend thebevel into the portion of the sole which is not beveled. Due to the factthat the cutter has an arcuate cutting edge, the bevel cut will beslightly concave and when the shoe is subsequently treated on a solelaying operation, a smooth surface, devoid of shoulders, will beproduced.

By reason of the adjustability of the work rest, the width of thebeveled surface and the amount of stock removed in the operation may bevaried, thus enabling the machine to be employed on all different sizesof shoes. With a little care, a relatively inexperienced operator willbe enabled to produce shoes having uniformly reduced shank portions andno danger of injury to the shoe upper will be present due to the factthat the work rest is at all times positioned between the marginalportion of the sole and the shoe upper. rest serves to maintain the shoesole in spaced relation'from the upper and there can be no contact ofthe upper with the cutter.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that there has been provided amachine which may be employed to reduce the shank portions of the solesof lasted shoes quickly and uniformly without requiring the services ofhighly skilled operators. hand operations, thereby decreasing themanufacturing costs of shoes and producing shoes having an improvedappearance. While the machine may be modified in numerous ways, it isdesired to reserve the rights to all such modifications as may be saidto fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The machine also eliminates costly During the cutting operation, thework What is claimed is:

1. A machine for beveling the edge portion of the sole of a lasted shoecomprising a frame, a horizontally disposed shaft journaled in saidframe, a star-shaped cutter secured to the end of said shaft forrotation therewith, said cutter having blades with curved outer edgeswhich cause the cutter to increase in diameter from the outer to theinner side, a work rest stationarily supported by said frame below saidcutter, said work rest having a fiat upper surface disposedsubstantially parallel with the axis of rotation of said shaft, theouter edge of said Work rest being reduced for insertion between theedge of the sole and the upper of a lasted shoe whereby the marginaledge portion of the outsole of an inverted shoe will be engaged withsaid cutter, and a spring-pressed gage member carried by said frame andextending across the outer side of said cutter, said gage contacting thesurface of the shoe sole and holding the sole firmly upon said workrest.

2. A machine for beveling the edge portion of the sole of a lasted shoecomprising a frame, a horizontally disposed shaft journaled in saidframe, a star-shaped cutter secured to the end of said shaft forrotation therewith, said cutter having blades with curved outer edgeswhich cause the cutter to increase in diameter from the outer to theinner side, a work rest stationarily supported by said frame adjacent tosaid cutter, said work rest having a flat surface disposed substantiallyparallel with the axis of rotation of said shaft, an edge of said workrest being disposed in registration with the outer surface of saidcutter and reduced in thickness for insertion between the sole and theupper of a lasted shoe whereby the marginal portion of the bottomsurface of the shoe sole will be disposed in engagement with saidcutter, a gage member movably supported by said frame and extendedacross the end of said shaft, said gage member engaging the surface ofthe shoe sole adjacent to the outseam, and means for yieldably movingsaid gage member toward said work support to hold the shoe sole inengagement therewith.

WILLIAM P. GORDON.

